The Buchanan Saga

“You’re on your feet all day.”

“Still, a little pretty wouldn’t hurt. But they, and the chicken, are a small price to pay. I get fabulous tips, really good benefits and once Zoe starts school, I’ll be home before her.”

“Who gets her ready in the morning?”

“Mrs. Ford.”

“I thought maybe your ex-husband came over to take care of things.”

For a full two seconds she thought he was fishing to find out about her marital status. Then she remembered the unfortunate babbling incident a few days before, where she’d flat out told him she wasn’t interested in dating or sex, only to realize the poor man hadn’t even asked.

“No ex,” she said easily.

“Then if I see a strange man lurking in the bushes, I’ll beat the crap out of him.”

“Absolutely.”

She took a last drink of coffee and looked at the clock.

“You have to go,” Walker said, putting down his mug. “Sorry about bothering you. I’ll try to have my nightmares more quietly. Thanks for the coffee.” He picked up the baseball bat. “And for coming to my rescue.”

She sighed. “I hate starting my day feeling foolish.”

“Don’t. You did a good thing.”

He put the bat down and left.

Elissa rinsed out both mugs, slipped the bat back in the hall closet, did a last check on Zoe, opened the door between her place and Mrs. Ford’s, then walked to her car.

As it was August, the sun was already up and birds all over the neighborhood were announcing the fact. She drove down the quiet streets and thought about Walker. He was an interesting man. Not a serial killer. She was willing to let that worry go. But he did have his secrets. Of course, so did she.

CHAPTER THREE

DANI BUCHANAN LOVED everything about her job. As assistant to the executive chef, she was in charge of reviewing food orders, making sure the kitchen staff showed up when they should, acting as liaison between the front of the house—the dining room—and the back of the house—the kitchen. During the dinner rush, she expedited plates and made sure the right orders got to the right table at the right time.

With Penny approaching zero hour on her pregnancy, she was spending less and less time at the restaurant, which meant more responsibility for Dani. Instead of feeling the pressure, Dani felt energized. She loved the challenges, how no two days were the same. She enjoyed the foul-mouthed cooks who had made her prove she wouldn’t blush at the raunchy jokes. Here in the kitchen of The Waterfront, she was just staff. Not Penny’s sister-in-law, not one of “the” Buchanans. She was judged on the job she did, nothing more.

She finished checking the produce delivery and signed the receipt. As the delivery truck rumbled away, Edouard, Penny’s sous-chef and the man now temporarily in charge of the cooks, walked in.

Dani eyed his scowl. “Someone not getting any?” she asked sweetly.

“This job is cutting into my social life,” Edouard told her with a sniff. “I am forced to leave the clubs before I am ready. Sometimes I am forced to leave alone. I do not like that.”

Edouard was French, moody, brilliant and recovering from a breakup. He could have made a reputation for himself, but he didn’t want the responsibility. Instead he was happy to be highly paid by Penny and have a life outside of work. Except while she was on semimaternity leave.

He walked into the kitchen and looked at the list of specials.

“You change them every day,” he complained. “Why is that?”

“Partly tradition and partly to annoy you.”

“We do not have the same people dining here night after night. They would not know if the specials remained the same for a week or so.”

“Suck it up, big guy.”

Edouard spread out his knives and checked the blades. He reached for a particularly nasty-looking cleaver. “I do not like it when you call me that.”

Dani held up both hands and smiled. “Point taken.”

“Good. Now I will cook your specials because I am a professional, but I will not be happy about it.”

“Duly noted.”

He sighed. “When will Penny be back?”

“She hasn’t left yet.”

“She is not here all the time. I miss her doing the hard work.”

He continued complaining, but Dani slipped out of the kitchen and headed to Penny’s office. There was more paperwork to be done before things got busy. She settled in front of the computer and entered the information for the produce order. Thirty minutes later, that was complete and she went to get another cup of coffee.

Several of the cooks had arrived. Stocks were already simmering as vegetables were chopped in preparation for that night’s dinner. A far cry from Burger Heaven, Dani thought as she filled her mug. Their setup was no more complicated than prepping burger toppings and picking the milkshake flavor of the month.

She’d stayed there too long, hoping her grandmother would notice the great job she’d been doing and move her to this place or Buchanan’s, the family steak house. But Gloria never had. A combination of family loyalty and the need for the great insurance had kept Dani in place until a few months ago, when she’d discovered nothing was as it seemed.

The insurance for her husband had become unnecessary when the lowlife cheater had asked her for a divorce. As for family loyalty, that was no longer an issue, either. When Dani had pushed to find out why she wasn’t getting promoted, her supposed grandmother had gleefully informed her that she, Dani, wasn’t actually a Buchanan. Dani had quit that instant.

The momentary act of thumbing her nose at a woman who had obviously always hated her had sustained her for all of forty-five minutes. Then Dani had been left with no job, no home and no idea what to do with her future.

A job offer from Penny to be her assistant had solved all of Dani’s problems and had given her time to figure out what she wanted to do while getting fabulous experience for her resume. In addition, Penny’s marriage to Cal meant Dani could take over the lease on Penny’s house. Plus there was the added bonus of knowing her presence at The Waterfront made Gloria furious. As Penny’s employment contract stated she was allowed to hire whomever she liked for her assistant, the old cow couldn’t touch Dani.

That was the upside of her life. The downside was finding out she wasn’t who she thought. And then there was the small mystery of her father.

Apparently her mother had had an affair that resulted in a pregnancy—Dani. But who was the guy? Did he know he had a daughter? Did he care? If Gloria knew, she wasn’t telling. But Dani was going to have to decide what to do.

Someone knocked on the open door, interrupting her musings. She turned and nearly passed out as all the air flew out of her lungs.

A man stood in the doorway. But not just any man. This one was tall, blond and oh so good-looking. Greek-god-like, even. His dark blue eyes and square jaw were male perfection and exactly Dani’s personal fantasy. Was it her birthday? Had someone wonderful sent her a present?

“Hi. I’m Ryan Jennings. I’m looking for Dani or Edouard?”

“I’m Dani.” She stood and brushed the front of her tailored blouse, wishing there was a way to subtly unbutton it a little more. She might be on the short side, but she had curves and she was suddenly in the mood to flaunt them.

He smiled. “Hey. Good to meet you. I’m really happy to be here. This is a great store and I’m looking forward to being on the team.”

Team? So he would be working here. Hmm, maybe her luck was changing. After the past few months, she was due for something wonderful to happen.

“Gloria Buchanan doesn’t exactly keep me in the loop on new hires,” Dani said easily, able to forgive the oversight when Ryan was so yummy. “And I haven’t talked to Penny yet today. You are going to be…?”

“The new general manager. Gloria didn’t tell you?”

“Don’t take it personally. She likes to spring things on people.”

“Interesting management style.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” She walked around her desk until she was next to Ryan. “Welcome aboard.”

They shook hands. She felt definite heat. Until that moment, she hadn’t given a thought to her love life. She was in the middle of a lot of personal upheaval and getting involved hadn’t seemed important. But suddenly, she saw possibilities.

“I’m a little overwhelmed by all of this,” he said. “I only interviewed a couple of days ago. I wasn’t sure I’d done that good a job, but she called this morning and made me a great offer.”

“Which you took.”

His eyes locked with hers. “Lucky me.”

Her thoughts exactly.

There were actual sparks, which she hadn’t felt in a really long time. Sparks, heat and a lot of potential. She suddenly felt like bursting into song.

“Okay then,” she said, telling herself it was important not to act like an idiot in front of Ryan. “Let me show you around the place. Are you from the Seattle area?”

“No. San Diego. I moved up here to help a buddy open a restaurant. Unfortunately the funding fell through and I found myself looking for a job in a strange city.”

“Seattle is great,” she said.

“I like what I’ve seen so far.”

He smiled at her as he spoke, as if implying he wasn’t just talking about Seattle.

She wondered how inappropriate it was to drag him back to her desk and have her way with him. Or not, she thought. Maybe she should take things more slowly. Show him the restaurant, let him meet the staff and drag him to her desk in the morning.

She smiled. It was always nice to have a plan.

“ELISSA, PHONE CALL.” Mindy held out the phone and smiled. “It’s a guy,” she mouthed.

Elissa put down the sugar container she’d been refilling in the lull between breakfast and lunch and told herself there was no reason to panic. Only she couldn’t seem to stop her heart from thumping wildly or her breath from disappearing.

She almost never got calls at work. The only one she could remember in the past year had been to tell her that Zoe had woken up with a fever and wouldn’t be going to preschool that day.

Could Neil have found her again? He always seemed to. It was the Internet. With fifty bucks, you could find anyone. Or maybe someone he knew had come in and recognized her. Or was it worse? A doctor at an emergency room, phoning about a horrible accident that had hurt her daughter?

“Hello?” she said into the phone.

“Elissa, it’s Walker. I’m sorry to bother you at work.”

Walker? She hadn’t talked to him in nearly a week. Not since their predawn coffee moment. “Is everything all right? Did something happen to Zoe?”

“What? No. As far as I know, she’s fine. This is about something else. Do you have a minute?”

“Sure. But let me call you back from the employee phone in the break room.” She scribbled down his number, then hung up and announced she was taking a break.

Mindy smiled knowingly as Elissa walked past her. She was going to have some explaining to do later.

She settled in one of the plastic chairs and picked up the phone. Seconds later she heard Walker’s low voice.

“What’s up?” she asked.

“I need to come by the restaurant and I wanted to explain why.”

There was an explanation? “It’s a public place,” she said. “Anyone is allowed.”

“I know, but this is different.” He paused, then said, “Before I left the Marines, a buddy of mine died. His name was Ben. He was a good kid. Determined. We were friends. He took a bullet and I wrote a letter for his family.”

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, wishing there were other words, more meaningful words, she could speak.

“He lost his folks when he was pretty young and grew up in foster care. He didn’t have any family, so there’s no one to send the letter to. But he told me about this girl. Ashley. He was crazy about her and wanted to marry her when he got out. All I know is that they went to high school together and her first name.”

“You want her to have the letter,” Elissa said, knowing moments like this put her life in perspective. Honestly, what did she have to complain about?

“Yeah. Ben went to four high schools in four years. I’ve made a list of all the Ashleys and I’m visiting them one by one.”

Suddenly the call made sense. “Ashley Bledsoe works here.”

“She’s on the list. I want to come by and talk to her, but I didn’t want to freak you out.”

She smiled. “I wouldn’t have thought of you as a guy who said words like freak.”

“I have many sides.”

She liked the ones she’d seen.

“Ashley works until two. If you come about one-thirty, we’re pretty slow. You can ask your questions and have lunch.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

She tightened her grip on the phone. “I won’t say anything to her,” she told him. She sensed it was important for him to have the conversation himself.

“I appreciate that. I’ll see you at one-thirty.”

She hung up, then stared out the window at the parking lot. Ben must have meant a lot to Walker for him to go to all this trouble. It made sense that living through dangerous situations together would forge strong bonds of friendship. Whoever Ben’s Ashley was, she was going to be getting some sad news.

Elissa tried to remember if her friend had ever mentioned a guy named Ben, but the way Ashley dated, it was tough to keep track of all the guys.

She stood and walked out of the break room. Both Mindy and Ashley were waiting for her in the short hallway.

“What?” she asked, knowing they were about to start grilling her.

“It was a man,” Mindy said with a grin. “A guy called you. And don’t try to pretend it was your dentist or something. He didn’t sound like a dentist.”

“It was Walker, my neighbor. He had a question.”

Ashley and Mindy exchanged glances.

“Uh-huh,” Ashley said. “A question that couldn’t wait until tonight? I can’t believe you’re involved and you didn’t tell us.”

“I’m not,” Elissa said firmly. “I swear. Walker is my new neighbor. We’ve talked a few times, but that’s it. There’s nothing going on.”

Neither of her friends looked convinced. She almost told them he would be stopping by later, but then decided to keep that tidbit to herself. One way or the other, they were going to jump to conclusions. She might as well enjoy their reactions to Walker first, as a small payment for what they would put her through.

WALKER ARRIVED right on time. Elissa didn’t see him walk in, but Mindy breathed a quiet, “Oh my,” which made Elissa look up.

She had to admit the man was a show all by himself. Even in worn jeans and a polo shirt, he looked both powerful and incredibly sexy.

Mindy glanced at her. “If that’s your lunch date, I’m going to be very, very bitter.”

Elissa grinned, passed over a package of sugar and went to seat him.

“Hi,” she said as she approached. “Are you going to be having lunch with us?”

“Sure. Can you seat me in your section and send Ashley over?”

“Of course.”

She gave him a booth by the window. Most of their lunch customers had left. There were only a half-dozen tables still in use.

“The burgers are great,” she said. “So are the salads, but you don’t strike me as a salad guy. All the omelets are amazing and you can either get hash browns or fries with them. Oh, and don’t tip me. You can apply the money to the tire.”

“I’ll take a bacon burger, fries and a Coke, and I will tip you. You can pay me back with it or not.”

“You’re a stubborn man.”

He grinned as he passed over the menu. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“I work at it. Okay, I’ll put in your order and send over Ashley.”

She walked to the computer terminal and typed in his lunch, then told her friend that the hunk at table fifteen would very much like a word with her.

Ashley’s eyes widened. “Elissa, no. He’s yours.”

“He’s not and this isn’t about asking you out.”

Ashley pouted. “Then why do I want to bother talking to him?”

“Just go.”

Mindy watched the exchange. “That’s interesting. Want to tell me what it’s all about?”

Elissa quickly filled her in. Mindy sighed.

“So he’s really not here for you. Bummer.”

“I’m okay with it,” Elissa said.

“You shouldn’t be,” her friend told her. “Dammit, Elissa, he’s good-looking, nice and someone doing the right thing. Why aren’t you interested?”

“I have my plan.”

Mindy rolled her eyes. “Going another thirteen years without sex isn’t a plan, it’s a death sentence. I know you love your daughter and we all admire that, but you’re taking yourself a little too seriously.”

Elissa appreciated the concern. “You don’t understand. I have really, really lousy taste in men. If I’m attracted to Walker—and I’m not saying I am—but if I were, there would be something hugely wrong with him.”

“That’s crazy.”

“Not for me.”

Elissa watched as Walker held out a picture. Ashley took it, then shook her head.

Elissa poured his drink and carried it to his table.

“She’s not the one,” he said.

“How many Ashleys have you talked to?”

“Fifteen so far. I found the easy ones first. I had to travel to Oregon and Montana for two of them.”

“You’re not going to give up, are you?”

“Ben was a good kid. He had a lot of heart. Someone out there has to have cared about him, missed him. I’m going to find her.”

“I know you will.” Walker wasn’t the kind to give up. He had a lot of heart, too, although she would guess he wouldn’t want to admit it.

“Your friends are watching us.”

She didn’t have to turn around to know who he meant. “They’re intrigued by you.”

“Sorry to bring this into your work.”

“It’s okay. We haven’t had that many things to talk about in the past few days. Now we have you.”

“I’m not that interesting.”

“You’d be surprised.”

THE SPORTS BAR CROWD groaned as the Mariners left two men on base. Walker ignored the game and walked toward the bar. His brother Reid leaned against the polished wood of the bar and smiled at the herd of women surrounding him.

When Reid spotted Walker, he slipped away from his adoring fans and promised he would be back later.

“You haven’t been in for a while,” Reid said as the two brothers claimed an empty corner table. “Getting lucky?”

Walker ignored that and ordered a beer from the busty, blond waitress who paused by their table.

“I’m good,” Reid told her and then turned his attention back to Walker. “Well?”

“I’m busy.”

“So you’re not getting any.” He motioned to the many women in the bar. “See anything you like here?”

“What do they see in you?” he asked.

“They think I’m charming.”

Walker wasn’t so sure about that, but Reid’s many years as a major league pitcher certainly helped his score quotient.

“But enough about me,” Reid said. “You’ve been back, what? Three months? All I know about is one short fling that lasted maybe two nights. It’s just not natural for a man to be alone, especially when he doesn’t have to be. You’ve got the soldier thing going for you. Plus, hey, you’re a Buchanan.”

“You don’t have anyone special in your life,” Walker pointed out.

Reid held up both hands. “I’m not talking about special. Who needs that? Just a little something to take your mind off things. It might help you adjust to life in the real world.”

“What makes you think I’m having any trouble adjusting?”

Reid shrugged. “I did. It’s a bitch to go from the roaring crowd chanting my name to this.”

“You’re doing okay.”

Reid’s stark expression said okay wasn’t good enough.

“It’s your first season out,” Walker said. “It’ll get easier.”

The waitress appeared with the beer. Walker took it and thanked her.

“You think it’s going to get easier for you?” Reid asked. “You want to tell me you don’t still dream about the bombs and the fear and the waiting for the next sniper shot?”

Walker never talked about his time in the military, but he wasn’t surprised to hear Reid’s accurate assessment of his life. He’d been in several hot spots. How hard was it to guess the big picture?

“It’s different,” he said.

“Agreed, but it’s still an adjustment.”

Around them the crowd cheered a home run. Reid didn’t bother to look at the giant TV screens.

“Are you sorry you left?” Reid asked.

Walker could read between the lines. He’d had a choice. Reid hadn’t. Once he blew out his shoulder, it was all over.

“I made the right decision,” Walker said slowly. “There are things I miss about the Marines, but not the killing. Every man has a line. If he crosses it, he becomes a psychopath. I was getting too damn close.”

“So what do you do now?” Reid asked. “After you find Ashley?”

Walker shrugged.

“Penny did twenty minutes on how you put the baby furniture together,” Reid told him. “You’re good at that kind of stuff. Maybe you should buy an old house and fix it up.”

“I’ve thought about it.”

He wasn’t ready to move just yet. He liked where he lived.

Damn—he was in big trouble if he was lying to himself. It wasn’t the place he liked, it was Elissa. Her and that stupid chicken on her uniform. How she’d looked so fierce, standing on his porch with her baseball bat. He wasn’t anyone who needed protecting, but she hadn’t thought of that. She’d just decided he was in trouble and had come to the rescue.

He hadn’t met anyone like her in a long time—maybe ever. Determined and independent with a heart as hard as a marshmallow. She was sexy as hell, too. Especially when she earnestly explained why she wasn’t interested in dating or having sex with him.

But he wasn’t going to act on it. He knew better than to get involved. Things would only end badly for her and he didn’t want that.

“I know some twins,” Reid said into the silence. “Interested?”

Walker rolled his eyes. “Not all problems can be solved with sex.”

Reid grinned. “Most of them can.”

“I’M READY FOR MORE vegetables, dear,” Mrs. Ford said from her place at Elissa’s kitchen table.

Elissa glanced over at the nearly full salad bowl. “You made quick work of everything.”

“It’s all in the right tools.” The older woman held up a unique little gadget that looked like a cross between garden shears and kitchen scissors. “I saw this Toss and Chop on QVC and knew I had to have it.”

Elissa stirred the pasta, making sure it cooked evenly. There was a nice marinara sauce with a whisper of meat—a scant quarter pound she hadn’t put in the chili.

“I felt kind of guilty at the mall today,” she admitted. “Like a fashion spy or something.”

“Why? You went into the store, you saw what was popular and you left. Hardly a crime.”

“I know. If I could afford to buy Zoe’s clothes, I would. But one of the dresses I looked at cost forty-five dollars. It’s not even two yards of fabric.”

Instead, she’d gone into the popular stores and checked out the various hot styles. Once home, she’d sketched out a few things to make herself. She wanted to make sure her daughter felt good about her clothes when she started kindergarten. Elissa still remembered the year she’d turned eleven and had shot up a couple of inches practically overnight. She’d gone to school with jeans that were too short and had been teased mercilessly. To this day, she still remembered crying all the way home.

Growing up was challenging enough. She was going to do her best to make sure Zoe avoided all possible pitfalls.

“Jeans and T-shirts are easy,” Elissa said. “Thank goodness for Wal-Mart. But the rest of it…”

“You’ll do fine. Have you seen Walker recently?”

Elissa stirred the sauce. “Not your smoothest transition.”

“I’m old and therefore allowances are made. Have you?”

“Not really.” Not if one didn’t count his recent visit to the restaurant. She didn’t want to get into the reason why he’d been there and if she left that out, Mrs. Ford was likely to assume things were heating up, which they weren’t.